WWII Mountain Memories:
Home Front to the Frontline
Testimonies of WWII Veterans and Civilians from Western North Carolina

Husband's full name: John Doyle Caylor

Born: April 24, 1924 in Varnell, Whitfield Co, Ga

Died: December 17, 1956 at Fort Benning, Georgia

John's parents were John Fletcher Caylor and Addie Cook Caylor. He graduated from Dalton High School, Dalton, Georgia in 1941.

Wife's name: Henrietta Gribble

John and Henrietta married on June 26, 1950 in Dalton, Georgia

HKC: Do you remember when you heard about the Pearl Harbor attack?

HC: Yes, my brother, one of my cousins, and I were in our yard listening to a battery radio and heard the announcement that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.

KC: Had you heard of Pearl Harbor before?

HC: Yes, I knew where it was.

HKC: You were from Georgia?

HC: Yes. I was born and grew up on a farm in Whitfield County, Georgia, about four miles north of Dalton.

HKC: You taught school in the Atlanta area for awhile, didn't you?

HC: Three years after my husband's death I enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta and received my Master of Librarianship degree in 1961.1 was employed as a school librarian in the Atlanta School System from 1961 until 1972.1 left Atlanta in the fall of 1972 to accept a position as the librarian at Pisgah High School in Canton, North Carolina, where I was employed until my retirement in 1991.1 was employed as a fifth grade teacher in the Dalton Public School System when John and I married.

HKC: How did you meet your husband, John?

HC: My parents sold their farm and moved to Dalton when my father became unable to continue farming They moved just two houses away from my husband's family. John was home on leave from the Naval Academy not long after we moved, saw me in our yard, walked down the street, and introduced himself. We started dating after that.

HKC: Tell me about his military career. When did he enlist?

HC: He enlisted in the Navy on August 23, 1941 at the age of 17. He was trained to be a radioman and served in the USS Ruby, a converted yacht. The Ruby patrolled the Atlantic area during the time he served in it.

HKC: And then he went to the Naval Academy?

HC: Yes, he was one of the young men selected from the fleet to attend the Naval Academy in 1944 and graduated June 6, 1948.

HKC: What was his job in the Navy - his classification?

HC: He was a Radioman, First Class, when he left the fleet to attend the Naval Academy.

He was a lieutenant when he was retired for disability in 1955.

HKC: What ships did he serve in?

HC: After the USS Ruby and the Naval Academy, he served four months in the USS Astoria. Then he served 28 months in the USS Toledo, Both were stationed on the west coast and spent most of their time patrolling the Pacific and Asian areas.

HKC: He went to Submarine School, didn't he?

HC: Yes. He attended submarine school from January to June of 1951. He served in the USS Medregal from July of 1951 until August of 1955. At that time, he was retired due to disability.

HKC: Your data says that your husband passed away in December of 1956, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Was he still in the military then?

HC: No. He had been retired for disability in August of 1955. Military rules require that anyone retired due to disability must report to a military hospital for a physical in eighteen months. Although he had been in the Navy he was ordered to the army hospital at Forth Benning, GA. He was retired because of internal bleeding but the source of the bleeding had not been determined. He was given an anesthetic to gargle prior to a procedure to examine his stomach. The contents of the gargle caused a cardio- respiratory arrest.

HKC: Was he in poor health at the time.

HC: No, he seemed to be in good health at the time. He hadn't had any Internal bleeding since his retirement.

HKC: You have two children, correct?

HC: Yes, a son, Edward Nelson Caylor and a daughter, Anne Caylor Goodwin.

HKC: You told me an interesting story abut your wedding one time, could you tell me

about that?

HC : We had waited a long time to get married since the Toledo was seldom docked in the United States. It was ordered to Long Beach for a six months overhaul period in June of 1950 so that seemed to be a good time for us to marry and have some time together. We married in Dalton, Georgia on June 26, 1950, the day the Korean War started. We were not aware of this, however. We took our time driving across the country and arrived in Long Beach about a week later. The afternoon of the day we arrived at our apartment John left to report to the Toledo. As soon as he went aboard he was informed that the Toledo's overhaul had been canceled and it was leaving the next morning. This was pretty unwelcome news, of course. The Toledo went to Hawaii where caskets, among other things, were loaded onto it. After this it proceeded to the coast of Korea where it was involved in the Inchon landings. The ship came back after six months for its postponed overhaul. By then John had been selected for Submarine School at Groton, Connecticut. We left California in December of 1950 and arrived in Groton in January of 1951. We >were pleased to finally have several months together while he attended submarine school.

HKC: What kinds of medals did John get while he was in the Navy?

HC: He received the following:

American Defense Service Medal

American Area Campaign Medal

Victory Medal-World War n

Navy Occupation Medal

China Service Medal

National Defense Medal

United Nations Service Medal

Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars

HKC: I know that the Bronze Stars are awarded for Major Campaigns-do you know what campaigns the two bronze stars were awarded for?

HC: I think they were probably awarded for two landing at Inchon that my husband was involved in. He was a gunnery officer and I remember him telling me he went ashore with some of the marines, who were aboard the Toledo, when they landed.

HKC: Did you have other family members serving in World War II?

HC: My brother was a mechanic in the Air Force. He was on Iwo Jima as soon as it was possible for airplanes to land. He told me there were Japanese soldiers all over the island who were hidden in caves and would shoot at the Americans whenever they could. It was a long time before they were free of danger from them.

HKC: Thank you for talking to us and allowing us to copy your photos of you and your husband.

(Ed. Note: No photographs were donated with interview transcript)

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